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Langley Air Force
The Langley Air Force (LAF) is the air force of the Duchy of Langley. The heaviest-decorated branch of the Langley Armed Forces, the LAF first rose to prominence as the Ashford Commonwealth Air Force (ACAF) during the Second Great War; from independence in 1948 until Duchess Asuka's ascension to the throne in 1955, it was known as the Royal Ashford Air Force (RAAF). History The Ashford Commonwealth Air Force (1929-1935) Prior to 1929, the Ashford Commonwealth was dependent on the Shroomanian Air Force for aerial defense. As one of the few semi-independent dominions of the Shroomanian Empire, it was decided that Ashford would get its own military; on November 1, 1929, the Ashford Commonwealth Air Force (ACAF) was officially established. The early ACAF was decently equipped for its time, primarily operating P-6 Hawks acquired from the MESS; later on, these were supplanted by other foreign manufactured aircraft, namely the Shroomanian Hart and Gauntlet and the Crimson I-15. However, all these aircraft would soon be rendered obsolete by the outbreak of the Second Great War, which saw the debut of revolutionary designs such as the Shroomanian Hurricane and the infamous Shadow Imperial Bf 109. The Second Great War, Part One (1935-1940) The Ashford Commonwealth Air Force was among the many forces that fought for the defense of Shroomania during the Showdown for Shroomania in 1936-1937. Initially equipped with Gauntlets and Gladiators, the Ashford Commonwealth squadrons rapidly transitioned to Hurricanes and Spitfires as the Showdown progressed. Ashford Commonwealth expeditionary forces operating under Byzantine command in Arabia were similarly equipped and also received Blenheims for ground attack. The ACAF also operated Wellington bombers during the strategic bombing campaigns against the Shadow Empire during the latter portion of the Shadow campaign. Back home, the ACAF's inventory of obsolete biplanes was rapidly replaced with the latest the MESS had to offer, namely the P-38 Lightning and P-40 Warhawk; these two aircraft types would later form the backbone of the ACAF at the beginning of the Arabia, Shepland, and Velaria campaigns of the second part of the war. The Second Great War, Part Two (1940-1948) While the Ashford Commonwealth Air Force was largely brought up to par with the rest of the world, it was still unprepared for the cowardly Imperial Japanistani Navy sneak attack on the garrison at the southern city of Teppelin on December 7, 1940. While most of the ACAF's assets at Teppelin were destroyed on the ground, six pilots managed to get to their planes and help drive off the Japanistani attackers. These six pilots–Lynette Bishop, Perrine H. Clostermann, Francesca Lucchini, Charlotte E. Yeager, Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen, and Sanya V. Litvyak–would later form the core of the legendary Ashford Commonwealth 501st Fighter Squadron (the "Strike Witches"). The ACAF immediately went on the offensive in the aftermath of the attack, deploying many of its assets to Arabia to help the Byzantines, Crimsons, and Shroomanians reinforce the Syrian Caliphate against the Egyptians and their Japanistani backers. More ACAF assets were also deployed to western Velaria to assist the Cascadians and the MESS in driving out the Japanistanis. An ACAF expeditionary force spearheaded by the 501st Fighter Squadron was deployed to the Old Dominion as a show of solidarity against the Shepistanis, who had aided the Shadow Empire in the first phase of the war and were now host to Shadow Imperial remnants eager to avenge their fallen nation. The ACAF was a major recipient of MESS military aid during the second phase of the Second Great War, receiving significant quantities of fighters such as the P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang, and P-63 Kingcobra in order to replace aircraft lost during the Teppelin raid and during combat against the Japanistanis and Shepistanis; combined with cheap yet tough and powerful Crimson aircraft such as the Il-2, La-7, and Yak-9, the ACAF was a highly formidable force for its size, and it acquitted itself very well against its Japanistani and Shepistani adversaries. With the advent of the jet age during the last years of the war, some ACAF squadrons were equipped with early jet fighters such as the Shroomanian Meteor and the MESS P-80 Shooting Star, though the vast majority of its fighting strength was still composed of piston-engined fighters at war's end. The Post-War Era and Independence (1948-1961) After Japanistan was beaten into submission and Shepistan was forced to enter an uneasy truce with the Old Dominion, the Ashford Commonwealth Air Force found itself with a hodgepodge of various aircraft types from various nations. When the Ashford Commonwealth gained its independence and became the Duchy of Ashford in mid-1948, the ACAF was likewise reformed into the Royal Ashford Air Force (RAAF). During the reformation process, multiple aircraft types were phased out as being outdated, redundant, or otherwise unnecessary; by 1950, the primary combat aircraft of the RAAF were the A-26 Invader, F-51 Mustang, F-80 Shooting Star, and Ilyushin Il-10, supplanted by the F-47 Thunderbolt, Meteor, and Yakovlev Yak-9. After Duchess Asuka ascended to the throne in 1955 and renamed the country and its institutions after herself, the newly reorganized Langley Air Force (LAF) began replacing its remaining F-51s and Yak-9s with more modern designs, namely the San Doradoan Ouragan and Mystère IV. The LAF was also quick to go supersonic, purchasing Super Mystères from San Dorado in 1958 to replace its F-80s and Meteors. Political Instabilities (1961-2007) The Air Force, along with the other branches of the Langley Armed Forces, has had a hand in the many coups the Duchy of Langley has undergone since Duchess Asuka was overthrown in 1961. It was an Air Force Academy cadet, Char Aznable, who assassinated the corrupt Duke Gihren and took over the country in 1967; even after he himself was overthrown by disgruntled Army Colonel Treize Khushrenada in 1974, he continued to be a major influence on Langley politics under the aliases "Zechs Merquise" and "Rau Le Creuset," eventually meeting his end at the hands of another Air Force Academy cadet, Kira Yamato, in 1993. The Modern Age (2007-present) Organization Aircraft The aircraft of the Langley Air Force are varied in origin, ranging from ex-Shepistani Air Force surplus to some of the latest designs to come out of the CATO and MESS alliances. In order to minimize logistics problems, the LAF has gone to great lengths to ensure that both MESS and CATO weapons systems are compatible with its aircraft; it is not uncommon to see Typhoons and F-16XLs armed with Vympel anti-air missiles or Su-39s armed with AGM-65s and JDAMs, for instance. The vast majority of the LAF's aircraft are of MESS/Shroomanian origin, though there are also significant numbers of USCR and indigenously designed aircraft operated as well. San Dorado was also a significant supplier of aircraft to the LAF in the early years of the jet age, and a limited number of ex-Shepistani aircraft purchased prior to Shepistan's annihilation still linger on to this day within the LAF's ranks. Current Inventory Historic Aircraft Pre-Second Great War *Gloster Gauntlet *Hawker Hart *P-6 Hawk *Polikarpov I-15 Second Great War *A-20 Havoc *B-24 Liberator *B-25 Mitchell *Bristol Blenheim *Bristol Beaufighter *de Havilland Mosquito *Gloster Gladiator *Hawker Hurricane *Ilyushin Il-2 *Lavochkin La-7 *P-38 Lightning *P-39 Airacobra *P-40 Warhawk *P-63 Kingcobra *Supermarine Spitfire *Vickers Wellington Post-Second Great War *A-1 Skyraider *A-4 Skyhawk *A-26 Invader *B-56 Stratojet *B-57 Canberra *Dassault Mirage III *Dassault Mystère IV *Dassault Ouragan *Dassault Super Mystère *F-4 Phantom II *F-5E/F Tiger II *F-16C/D/E/F Fighting Falcon *F-47 Thunderbolt *F-51 Mustang *F-80 Shooting Star *F-101 Voodoo *F-104 Starfighter *F-105 Thunderchief *F-106 Delta Dart *Folland Gnat *Gloster Meteor *HAL Ajeet *IAI Kfir *Ilyushin Il-10 *Yakovlev Yak-9 Weapons Systems Air-to-Air Missiles *AIM-9X Sidewinder *AIM-120 AMRAAM *Vympel R-33 (AA-9 Amos) *Vympel R-37 (AA-13 Arrow) *Vympel R-73 (AA-11 Archer) *Vympel R-77 (AA-12 Adder) Air-to-Surface Missiles *AGM-65 Maverick *AGM-84 Harpoon Block III *AGM-84K SLAM-ER *AGM-88 HARM *Raduga Kh-58 (AS-11 Kilter) *Raduga Kh-59/Kh-59M (AS-13 Kingbolt/AS-18 Kazoo) *Vympel Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge) *Zvezda Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton) *Zvezda Kh-35 (AS-20 Kayak) Rockets *Mk 40 FFAR *S-8 rocket *S-13 rocket *Zuni Bombs *CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition *CBU-97 Sensor Fuzed Weapon *CBU-100 Cluster Bomb *GBU-12, GBU-16, and GBU-27 Paveway series laser-guided bombs *GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb *Joint Direct Attack Munition *Mk 82, Mk 83, and Mk 84 unguided bombs Surface-to-Air Missiles *MIM-23J/K Hawk *MIM-104 Patriot *S-300PMU-2 (SA-20 Gargoyle) *S-400 Triumf (SA-21 Growler)